Hand-held scanner with rotary position detector

• US 6,104,845 A
• Filed: 05/28/1999
• Issued: 08/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wizcom Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Wizcom Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Lipman, Aharon, Lipman, Adi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Wenpeng
• Application Number:
  US08/973,911
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 382/313, 382/314, 382/321, 382/323, 382/140, 235/462, 235/472, 235/454, 250/234, 250/566, 358/673
• US Class Current: 382/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10881 constructional details of hand-held scanners

Abstract

An optical scanner including a hand-holdable housing including a scanner head for scanning a record medium, a roller engageable with and rotatable by the record medium when scanned by the scanner head, the roller including an optically-sensible marking for use in measuring rotary movements of the roller, a light source illuminating the roller and the marking thereof, an optical sensor for sensing information on the record medium and the marking of the roller, and a control system for periodically energizing the light source during predetermined time periods enabling the optical sensor to sense the marking of the roller during the predetermined time periods, and the information on the record medium during other time periods.

Claims

1. An optical scanner comprising a hand-holdable housing including:

a scanner head for scanning a record medium;

a roller engageable with and rotatable by said record medium when scanned by said scanner head, said roller including an optically-sensible marking for use in measuring rotary movements of the roller;

a light source illuminating said roller and said marking thereof;

an optical sensor for sensing information on the record medium and the marking of the roller;

and a control system for periodically energizing said light source during predetermined time periods enabling said optical sensor to sense said marking of the roller during said predetermined time periods, and the information on the record medium during other time periods.

2. The scanner according to claim 1, wherein said housing further includes a second light source for illuminating said record medium, and said control system periodically energizes said second light source at different time periods than said first-mentioned light source.

3. The scanner according to claim 2, wherein said first-mentioned light source is energized at a frequency of over 1 KHz, and said second light source is energized at a frequency of lower than that of said first-mentioned light source.

4. The scanner according to claim 2, wherein said housing further includes a third light source for illuminating the record medium and for focussing a spot of light therefrom onto the optical sensor when the scanner head is in contact with the record medium, said control system periodically energizing said third light source at different time periods than said first-mentioned light source and said second light source, and at a lower frequency than said second light source.

5. The scanner according to claim 1, wherein:

said optical sensor includes a linear array of optical sensor elements extending parallel to the direction of rotation of the roller; and

said optically-sensible marking includes at least one line extending helically on the outer face of said roller.

6. The scanner according to claim 5, wherein said marking includes a plurality of lines each extending helically for a fraction of the outer face of said roller and equally spaced from each other circumferentially of said roller.

7. The scanner according to claim 6, wherein said plurality of lines are carried by a first section at one end of the roller, said roller including a second section at the opposite end marked with a single line extending helically around said section.

8. The scanner according to claim 5, wherein said housing further includes a second roller engageable with and rotatable by the record medium when scanned by said scanner head, said second roller being mounted for rotation about a rotary axis perpendicular to the rotary axis of the first-mentioned roller and also including at least one optically-sensible line extending helically on the outer face thereof to reflect the light therefrom to said array of optical sensor elements such that the two rollers track the movements of the scanner head along two orthogonal axes.

9. The scanner according to claim 1, wherein said housing further includes a storage device for storing a dictionary of words and their translations, a visual display, and a data processor for processing the electrical signals from the optical sensor, for recognizing words therefrom corresponding to words stored in said storage device, and for displaying translations in said visual display.

10. The scanner according to claim 9, wherein:

said housing further includes a microphone and a speaker; and

said data processor includes further means for processing electrical signals from said microphone, for recognizing words therefrom corresponding to words stored in said storage device, and for reproducing their translations in said speaker.

11. The scanner according to claim 1, wherein said optical sensor includes:

an array of optical sensor elements;

a first optical system including a focussing lens for focussing onto said array of optical sensor elements light reflected from said record medium;

and a second optical system including said focussing lens of the first optical system for focussing onto said array of optical sensor elements light reflected from said roller.

12. A hand-holdable optical scanner, comprising:

a scanner head for scanning a record medium to read information therefrom;

a roller engageable with and rotatable by said record medium when scanned by said scanner head, said roller including an optically-sensible marking indicating the rotary movements of the roller and thereby the displacement of said scanner head;

a light source for illuminating said roller;

an optical sensor for sensing light reflected from said record medium and light reflected from said roller;

a first optical system having a focussing lens for focussing onto said optical sensor light reflected from said record medium;

and a second optical system including said focussing lens of the first optical system for focussing onto said optical sensor light reflected from said roller.

13. The scanner according to claim 12, wherein:

said optical sensor includes a linear array of optical sensor elements extending parallel to the direction of rotation of the roller; and

said optically-sensible marking includes at least one line extending helically on the outer face of said roller.

14. The scanner according to claim 13, wherein said first optical system focusses light reflected from said record medium on some of said linear array of optical sensor elements, and said second optical system focusses light reflected from said roller on others of said linear array of optical sensor elements.

15. The scanner according to claim 12, wherein said scanner further includes a second light source for illuminating said record medium, and a control system for periodically energizing said first-mentioned light source during predetermined times, and said second light source during other predetermined times, to enable said optical sensor to sense both the information on the record medium and the marking of the roller.

16. The scanner according to claim 12, wherein said housing further includes a storage device for storing a dictionary of words and their translations, a visual display, and a data processor for processing the electrical signals from the optical sensor, for recognizing words therefrom corresponding to words stored in said storage device, and for displaying translations in said visual display.

17. The scanner according to claim 16, wherein:

said housing further includes a microphone and a speaker; and

said data processor includes further means for processing electrical signals from said microphone, for recognizing words therefrom corresponding to words stored in said storage device, and for reproducing their translations in said speaker.

18. A detector for detecting rotary movements of a rotary member about a rotary axis, comprising:

a linear array of optical sensor elements extending parallel to said rotary axis of the rotary member;

a light source for illuminating the outer surface of said rotary member; and

an optically-sensible marking including at least one line extending helically on the outer face of said rotary member.

19. The detector according to claims 18, wherein said marking includes a plurality of lines extending each helically for a fraction of the circumference of the outer face of said rotary member and equally spaced from each other circumferentially of said rotary member.

20. The detector according to claim 19, wherein said plurality of lines are carried by a first section at one end of said rotary member, said rotary member including a second section at the opposite end marked with a single line extending helically around said section.

21. The detector according to claim 18, wherein said rotary member is a roller engageable with and rollable along the surface of an object to track the rotary movements of the roller with respect to said object.

22. The detector according to claim 21, wherein said roller is included in an optical scanner having a scanner head, and said object is a record medium to be scanned by said scanner head.

23. The detector according to claim 22, wherein said scanner further includes a light source for illuminating said roller and said marking thereof, and a control system for periodically energizing said light source during predetermined time periods enabling said optical sensor elements to sense the rotary-position marking of the roller during said predetermined time periods, and the information on the record medium during other time periods.

24. The detector according to claim 23, wherein said scanner head includes a second light source for illuminating said record medium, and said control system periodically energizes said second light source at different time periods than said first-mentioned light source.

25. The detector according to claim 24, wherein said scanner head includes a common lens for focussing the light both from said record medium and from said roller onto said optical sensor.

26. The detector according to claim 24, wherein said scanner head includes a third light source for illuminating the record medium and for focussing a spot of light therefrom onto the optical sensor when the scanner head is in contact with the record medium, said control system periodically energizing said third light source at different time periods than said first-mentioned light source and said second light source.